Senator Shilling: ‘Open, clean government is good for everyone in Wisconsin’

November 3, 2015

Republican bills now being pushed through the Legislature “make sweeping changes to many longstanding good-government protections,” State Senator Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) writes in a column published in the Wisconsin State Journal.

“These misguided attacks on Wisconsin’s longstanding, bipartisan tradition of open and clean government are a threat to our democratic institutions and will only serve to further polarize Wisconsin’s political environment,” she writes.

“Throughout Wisconsin’s history, both Democrats and Republicans have supported laws to protect citizen access, prevent political corruption and maintain high ethical standards. Unfortunately, this historical bipartisan agreement is nearing an end.”

Last month, WEAC President Betsy Kippers also blasted the bills, saying in particular that proposed changes to campaign finance laws “are a sweet deal for politicians. Educators only wish the authors of these bills cared as much about children as their campaign coffers.”

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